Twitchy

It seems like every time James Comey opens his mouth, he further undermines his own legacy as FBI director.

As Twitchy told you, an exchange with Rep. Trey Gowdy during yesterday’s questioning regarding Comey’s definition of “private conversation” lent credence to the theory that Comey’s just a super-shady guy. This isn’t likely to help salvage what’s left of his shaky reputation:

Comey does not inspire confidence when he continues to falsely claim that Republicans were involved in the Steele dossier pic.twitter.com/oiYZFWYeUp

Ugh.Sigh. How many times must we go through this? As we — and many others — have pointed out on numerous occasions, the Washington Free Beacon ended its relationship with Fusion GPS long before Christopher Steele came into the picture.

Speaking of depressing, think seeing Comey’s remark in context will make him look better? Nope. Rep. Mark Meadows posted more of the exchange, and it’s pretty clear that Comey’s not good at much except burying himself:

I asked Director Comey about who paid for the dossier. His response:

1) Republicans paid for it — (Republicans did not pay for it)2) "Who cares?"

Yes, this is an FBI Director apparently not caring to know who paid for information used to surveil Americans with a FISA warrant. pic.twitter.com/N7KdEqNxYp

Breaking news out of Arizona where we’re seeing multiple reports that Arizona Governor Doug Ducey has selected Republican Martha McSally, who just lost her race for the U.S. Senate to Dem Kyrsten Sinema, to fill the state’s open seat once held by John McCain:

I’m grateful to @RepMcSally for taking on the great responsibility of representing #Arizona in the U.S. Senate. I look forward to working with her and Senator-Elect @kyrstensinema to get positive things done.

I think @MarthaMcSally is the fairest option for @dougducey to pick for #AZSen. He must choose a Republican. She won the GOP primary with more than 50 percent. She barely lost the general. The voters got their 1st choice in @kyrstensinema with McSally they get their 2nd choice.

McSally will have to defend the seat in a 2020 special election ahead of the seat’s regularly scheduled 2022 election:

My husband’s greatest legacy was placing service to AZ & USA ahead of his own self-interest. I respect @dougducey's decision to appoint @RepMcSally to fill the remainder of his term. Arizonans will be pulling for her, hoping that she will follow his example of selfless leadership

“If Kellyanne wanted to come on and have a genuine discussion about policy that was rooted in facts, I think that would be one thing,” Darcy noted. “But it’s very clear that when she does come on, she’s aiming to deflect, she’s deceiving the audience. She’s spreading misinformation. And I think that’s the problem.”

He said that he could see Cuomo’s point that he “wants to share the other side” and the White House can’t answer some of the pressing questions of the day, but Darcy felt there were other ways to go about it.

“He could show and play audio of the president contradicting himself,” the CNN reporter stated. “There are ways that you can illustrate to the audience that the White House has no good questions for the pressing issues. A 40-minute sparring back and forth with Kellyanne Conway? I’m not sure what purpose that serves the viewer.”

Video here:

.@oliverdarcy says if Kellyanne Conway wanted to come on CNN and have genuine discussions rooted in facts, that would be one thing. "But it’s very clear that when she does come on she’s aiming to deflect, she’s deceiving the audience, she’s spreading misinformation…" pic.twitter.com/VS3ce2INbG

Cancel the coral-bleaching apocalypse as it looks like life has somehow found a way to adapt to temperature increases, you know, just like life on the planet has done for the past 500 million years or so:

After ocean temperatures surged in 2016 around the Great Barrier Reef, causing severe damage, researchers found that the corals that survived were more resistant to another period of extreme warmth the following year.https://t.co/6RKpFpjrVU

We’re willing to bet that the fish will figure this one out just like the corals did. From Gizmodo:

While it’s heartening that not all corals are equally doomed in our warming world, it’s also crucial to note that not all corals play the same ecological role. As Hughes and his colleagues noted in a paper out earlier this year, the Great Barrier Reef is fast becoming a “highly altered, degraded system” as the corals that provide the most nooks and crannies to shelter reef fish vanish.

Oh, and in other unexpected coral news, scientists discovered the organisms thriving at much deeper depths which means there’s a vast store of live animals available to replenish those that have been killed off at the surface:

Not sure what to make of this but seems interesting: "Numerous Great Barrier Reef coral species are found living in the deep ocean" https://t.co/gDgUO3DMyZ

Earlier today President Donald Trump tweeted that “NBC and Democrat spin machines like Saturday Night Live” should be challenged in court and questioned if what he considers one-sided commentary on his administration and himself is legal:

A REAL scandal is the one sided coverage, hour by hour, of networks like NBC & Democrat spin machines like Saturday Night Live. It is all nothing less than unfair news coverage and Dem commercials. Should be tested in courts, can’t be legal? Only defame & belittle! Collusion?

“I have been at probably every powerful table that you can think of, I have worked at nonprofits, I have been at foundations, I have worked in corporations, served on corporate boards, I have been at G-summits, I have sat in at the U.N.: They are not that smart.”

She didn’t even use a qualifier. Apparently, she really thinks they are all just a bunch of idiots.

Her husband said the same thing about 2 weeks ago. They really believe they’re the smartest people in any room they’ve ever set foot in. https://t.co/GU62qaX9Bx

VIDEO: Cubans line up at bakeries across Havana, waiting hours for a loaf of bread, a basic good that has become hard to find after some important mills broke down on the island resulting in a shortage of flour pic.twitter.com/VUaEp09ylN

And this is exactly the kind of government that the new face of the Democratic Party, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and one of the two Democratic front-runners for the party’s presidential nomination in 2020, Bernie Sanders, want to implement.

Former FBI director James Comey wants Republicans to speak up for the FBI, the “rule of law” and the truth.

This is from the President of our country, lying about the lawful execution of a search warrant issued by a federal judge. Shame on Republicans who don’t speak up at this moment — for the FBI, the rule of law, and the truth. pic.twitter.com/c5dhQBnmyi

Dude, he’s the mascot of a HOCKEY TEAM – what did you expect to happen?!

Friday night at the United Center the Chicago Blackhawks suffered a tough loss in overtime to the Winnipeg Jets, but for one fan he suffered embarassment during another type of loss. In the concourse of the UC a post-game scuffle occured with a fan and a Blackhawks employee.

This was not a concession stand dispute, or an argument with seat ushers. One attendee apparently had a problem with Tommy Hawk, the avian mascot of the team and it was captured on video. And it did not go well for the fan. Tommy managed a body slam, some punches, and a headlock before disentangling with his attacker.

Police on the scene confirmed the mascot had been initially assaulted, by a male estimated to be 18-20 years old. No one was brought into custody, and that seems understandable. After that kind of blackbird beatdown in front of a crowd it would have been best to disappear as quickly as you can.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was doing her part to make sure millennials were getting suckered into the disaster that is Obamacare like a good little socialist Democrat. Hey, at least she admitted this crap is expensive:

Reminder to my fellow millennials to get your act together & buy insurance before tonight’s deadline.

US healthcare is terrible? DAFUQ is she talking about?! People from all over the world come to the United States for their healthcare. And sorry, but why would she say healthcare sucks in America and then push for the govt. to provide it for everyone?

We think she might be confused between healthcare and health INSURANCE, but hey, we wouldn’t want her to think we’re picking on her for being dense now, would we?

Redo math Sister. US not lag behind rest of world. Research more instead of vomiting out wrong data. Ins. Healthcare reimbursement, for big 5 Ins co’s, is “based” on current Medicare reimbursements. We’ve have had this Medicare like benefit since the 1990’s

Be careful, your ignorance is showing. The best healthcare in the world exists in the United States, we just happen to be a gigantic, highly diverse country compared to Norway or Japan. Also, control for the fact that we all eat bacon every morning.

Kimberley Strassel once again has wrapped up what is happening with the Flynn case in a few simple tweets so the rest of us can follow along. No shame in it, so much of what we’re hearing about with these multiple investigations reads a lot like stereo instructions written backward in Japanese.

Fascinating that the 302 referenced in the Flynn filing is actually an August interview of Peter Strzok–recounting the Flynn meeting. Though this raises the question… where is the original Flynn 302? Did special counsel file it to judge?

To my eye, the situation is even more disturbing than the press reporting suggests. It appears that there is no 302 of the Flynn interview. The 302 dated August 22, 2017, which Mueller submitted to the court, documents an interview of Peter Strzok, not of Flynn. It appears that this interview of Strzok took place on July 19, notes of the interview were drafted the next day (July 20), and the 302 was approved and entered into the FBI’s files on August 22. The question obviously arises: Where is the Flynn 302? FBI procedures would have called for a report within a few days of the interview. It is not that there wasn’t one for seven months. For now, it looks like none has been produced at all.

What the HECK, right?!

Back to Strassel’s tweets though.

The Strzok interview specifically says he was "primarily responsible for taking notes and writing the FD-302" after the Flynn meeting.

2) And here is what the Strzok 302 just filed to Judge Sullivan says: Both agents "had the impression at the time that Flynn was not lying or did not think he was lying." So remind me again so many folk treat everything @Comey says as gospel truth?

Agents say they didn't think lied. Also, McCabe memo has a redacted line that makes it sound as if Flynn tells McCabe that he knows there are likely transcripts of his talks with ambassador. So why lie?

The corrupt Obama DOJ developed an "insurance policy" to invalidate a legally elected president. #ReleaseTheDocuments Keep investigating the crimes committed by the Obama Administration. Hopefully the judge will stand tall for General Flynn.

A federal judge has ruled that key parts of the Affordable Care Act are unconstitutional. The Obamacare law will remain intact pending appeal, but Democrats like Sen. Chris Murphy are already warning about people losing the plans they currently have:

20 Republican AGs brought this suit, supported by Trump.

Tonight, they are celebrating that 20 million of you might have just lost your health care.

As a member of the House, Murphy voted for passage of the ACA, which resulted in millions losing their plans and then-President Obama being awarded the 2013 “Lie of the Year” distinction for the promise of “if you like your plan you can keep it.”

As we told you yesterday, a federal judge has ruled that key parts of the Affordable Care Act are unconstitutional, but the Obamacare law will remain in place pending appeal of the ruling. Vox’s Ezra Klein predicted the Democrats’ next step:

I don't think this kind of nonsense is going to kill the Affordable Care Act. But the continued assault on Obamacare is very much why Democrats are going to pass some version of Medicare-for-All next time they hold power.

"Democrats will have to pass fully socialized medicine because Republicans haven't gone along with the last few steps toward fully socialized medicine" – scumbags who swore up & down that no, of COURSE the next step after Obamacare wouldn't be fully socialized medicine https://t.co/oSoekPMWAE

From there, Trump’s most loyal servant in the Senate compared the president’s lies about whether or not he paid to keep women silent about their alleged affairs to President Bill Clinton’s lies about having “sexual relations” with Monica Lewinsky. “I voted against that article of impeachment, because I think most people, blindsided, would lie to protect their family,” Graham added. “Lying about sex wasn’t enough then for me and it’s not enough now.”

Or she could have just looked up the vote which took “less than a minute to find”:

Another reminder for her is that Dems had no problem trotting out Bill in 2016. So, which standard is it going to be? If Dems think they’re going to win this hypocrisy back-and-forth, they’re sadly mistaken:

Related reminder: Democrats won this argument. Every last person left in the party, and every public commentator, rejected Graham's position. 18 years later, they tried to bring the Clintons back. Recall that when they now embrace it. What he said then was right, and still is. https://t.co/RqS2aRD3hP

And he’s not above calling out members of the media as well, apparently.

Here’s Rachel Weiner of the Washington Post who got on Judge Ellis’ bad side when she, in her own words, “stupidly” joked with him in a back-and-forth while he was bashing the press for caring more about Manafort than the opioid crisis:

Today in Judge Ellis news — was in his courtroom for sentencing of a fentanyl dealer, an awful case: one girl he introduced to heroin died, another almost did. Ellis repeatedly complained that the press wasn't there, that they only come for the "titillating" political stuff …

Finally, AUSA Jim Trump points out that there is a reporter in the room. So Ellis asks me to stand up and say why I'm there, I say I do think the story is important, and (stupidly) joke that I'm a little offended he didn't recognize me.

Result: A two or three minute lecture on how I shouldn't be "flippant," when these victims' family members have spoken so powerfully, and that it's now my responsibility to do better in print. Anyway, now I can say I too have been yelled at by Judge Ellis.

That's big. So here's the score: no injunction, no refusal to enforce, and the stage is set for an orderly appeal, where the red states will surely lose. Can't we all go to sleep now? https://t.co/OTDgbdatpr

The judge entered a declaratory judgment, not an injunction. That means the Trump administration and the states are free to keep implementing the ACA. One district court judge's declaration doesn't bind the government nationwide.

What's more, California is going to appeal this decision. And it'll probably seek a stay pending appeal out of an abundance of caution — though I don't think it technically needs to do so, since there's no injunction in place.

Some court will enter a stay — probably Judge O'Connor himself, but failing that the Fifth Circuit or the Supreme Court. What's certain is that it's above the judge's pay grade to invalidate the entire ACA without any possibility of review.

So breathe deeply. The Fifth Circuit is unlikely to take this frivolous case seriously, and the case will die without the Supreme Court having to intervene. In the meantime, the ACA will remain in effect.

The wildcard here is the Trump administration, which has choices about how to respond. Will it keep enforcing, as it has been, while the case is still pending? That's my expectation. But if it throws a fit of pique and stops enforcing altogether, that could get ugly.

The clip shows how CBP agents routinely destroy water and other supplies left by aid groups for illegal immigrants crossing the desert. If you click the link, Hayes is crystal clear that the videos he’s showing are from 2010 – 2017, but in light of the recent tragedy where a young girl died in ICE custody, it’s, of course, being used as a cudgel against the Trump administration. You can clearly see the timestamp in this frame is from 2011:

For example, Jorge Silva, who was an aide to Harry Reid and on Hillary Clinton’s election staff, shared the video without including that this was common practice under the Obama administration:

Please re-watch this video shows border agents dumping water left for migrants. The water that was left in the desert by aid groups was left there so that people don't die of dehydration. CBP destroys the water jugs. https://t.co/Ammx8GKqxI via @msnbc

This is par for the course, however, and libs will not wait before choosing the narrative:

This is getting tiring. The clear implication here is that DHS did something wrong, but there is ZERO evidence of that so far. This is a real tragedy, but the little girl hadn’t eaten or drank anything for several days before she was taken into CBP custody. https://t.co/EQPzKP26oY

You can argue that her dad had legit reasons for taking her on the dangerous journey from Guatemala and having her cross the border illegally, but that doesn’t change that it’s clear the journey is what caused her death.

She was having seizures and had a 105 degree fever within a few hours of being in custody. She was taken into custody in a remote area. As soon as they got her to a border station w medical personnel, they got her medical treatment and airlifted her to a hospital.

You can either blame the father for taking her on this journey or blame no one, but it’s despicable that the media is going out of their way to blame CBP when there is 0 evidence they did anything other than their jobs and try to save her life.

If I'm reading this right, the court did not enjoin the government from enforcing the Affordable Care Act but instead issued a declaratory judgment that it is invalid and unenforceable. That means nothing happens immediately to the ACA as this case is inevitably appeals. pic.twitter.com/8mDwbnRYDZ